Hello! I've been struggling with losing weight (or inches) for years. I've tried diets, exercise, etc. Each time I end up doing something like eating too much and seeing how badly of done I give up thinking its all too much. I've hit that point again and I really want to give up again, but I also want to get healthier.

I don't know what to do, its really hard for me and I know I must sound pathetic because I've only been at this a week, but I need your help. How do you guys stay motivated? How would you recommend I stay motivated?

You don't sound pathetic at all. Weight loss is extremely difficult, and I've had the same struggle for a long time as well. I have yet to succeed in pushing past the pessimism of feeling like I've failed every time I eat too much, but make it your goal to "start again" right away! Don't ever think you can give up. Doing 6 healthy days, one fallback does not necessarily "undo" those days. Forgive yourself and move forward. Be prepared that you will have fallbacks, and give yourself the mindset to also be prepared to move on from them. Even 2 healthy days and 1 unhealthy day is better than no healthy days. You can totally do this, just keep trying, and hang in there. =)

You don't sound pathetic at all. Weight loss is extremely difficult, and I've had the same struggle for a long time as well. I have yet to succeed in pushing past the pessimism of feeling like I've failed every time I eat too much, but make it your goal to "start again" right away! Don't ever think you can give up. Doing 6 healthy days, one fallback does not necessarily "undo" those days. Forgive yourself and move forward. Be prepared that you will have fallbacks, and give yourself the mindset to also be prepared to move on from them. Even 2 healthy days and 1 unhealthy day is better than no healthy days. You can totally do this, just keep trying, and hang in there. =)

^This

For me, its just that feeling after a workout. I just feel more energized to do more of whatever. I'd like to think that the time I put in at the gym equates to more time and energy I could be using to do something I really like. Just keep trying like Majestic said 1 or 2 healthy days are better then none.

For me, what helped, was transitioning into it. SO many people just start out with an extreme diet and expect to be able to stick to it. If you eat nothing but junk all the time and cut it all out and go to salads every day, the chances of you sticking to it are highly unlikely.

I used to eat fast food every day, now, I didn't get fat, but I didn't feel good and I wasn't in shape. I've never been over 125lb, but that doesn't mean I was healthy! What worked best for me was buying chicken and other healthy foods for dinner at the store, and also having a good breakfast and I cheated during lunch because of work/school or whatever. There's also the times you're out with friends and cheat at dinner, but don't get down on yourself for it! Just don't over indulge and be aware of what you're eating. Before you know it, it will just become routine and you'll end up finding a way to make lunch healthy as well. Then when you do have those "set backs" when you just need that cheeseburger, you feel less guilty about it because it happens less frequently.

Now as far as the working out process, it's the same thing. Ease your body into it. Go a few days (even one day if you need to) out of the week, and slowly work your way up to more days/longer work outs. Listen to your body when it gets to its breaking point. You don't want to pull or strain anything from pushing yourself too hard, because then it takes longer to get back in, which then makes you less motivated. Keep your head up and know you're doing this for YOU and make little work out logs/eating logs to track your process. You'd be amazed at how much can change in just two weeks if you stick with it.

Hey you've been at it a week, that's something. I can barely go out for a run 3 days out of a week. What you have to tell yourself is that there is reality and there is fantasy. You can't look at what the media does and think that's what I have to be. I'm sure you don't think like that but you probably still get insecure like every other person in the world when you see it. It's very natural.

Here's the thing, you already did two important things: you tried, and you want to do something for yourself. You've already taken the initiative. That's something to be proud of. You have a desire to already become healthier/lose weight etc etc etc. Even 1 pound lost is something. Of course the obstacles of cravings and eating are always in the way but you have to ease yourself towards that new reality.

Like Makira said, it's about the transition. You can have your cheats but that doesn't mean you've failed, you just pick yourself up and maybe work out twice as hard the next day, or just tell yourself you'll do it less. But even if you cheated, you're already working towards undoing it, doing something is better than doing nothing. You have to be proud of the little steps, because those are what will build up and eventually get you going.

I hope that this helps, and you should cheer up, because I already admire that you're trying to seek help because it's one of the hardest things people can do sometimes. Good job ^^ Keep at it

Thank you all for answering! I feel much better now because of the support and advice you guys offered. I'm working on getting past how absurdly much I ate yesterday and I'm exercising and started up on my mainly healthier food meals again.

I think my main goal now is to slowly eat less and less unhealthy food and also less food in general (I used eat A LOT of food out of habit). I think the main problem is having the unhealthy food available to me at home that I don't have control over (I'm under 18 and living with my family so it isn't really my decision what we buy).

Thank you all for answering! I feel much better now because of the support and advice you guys offered. I'm working on getting past how absurdly much I ate yesterday and I'm exercising and started up on my mainly healthier food meals again.

I think my main goal now is to slowly eat less and less unhealthy food and also less food in general (I used eat A LOT of food out of habit). I think the main problem is having the unhealthy food available to me at home that I don't have control over (I'm under 18 and living with my family so it isn't really my decision what we buy).

Im filipino. Our diet is grease everything. I feel your pain about meals at home. But I'll be honest, i did not eat clean during my weight loss journey.

Facts of life that we cant escape.
Taxes, Death, and fat loss will only occur with a calorie deficit.

You can make this deficit by cutting out calories in your food (which in home cooked meals case is either significantly smaller portions if its unhealthy) increasing your exercise, or better both.

Things that really motivated me was the show, The Biggest Loser. Now, when i was at my peak weight, i was no where near as these guys. BUT, these guys were HUUUUUGE. yet, im watching them want it so badly. working so hard. Working harder than i ever did at that point in my life, and they started off in a shape far worse than i was. If they could do it, then i could do it.

Some weeks they wouldnt lose as much and you can see the dissapointment and frustration in their faces. the following week they dug deep and banged out significant numbers at the next weigh in.

in the words of Alfred, "why do we fall down master bruce?" "so we can get back up"

dont be so hard on yourself when you slip up. your already on the right track by wanting to do something about it. and even when it feels too hard, i always remember this quote.

"Pain lasts but only for a moment. It can be a minute, an hour, or even a year. But eventually that pain will subside, and something else will take its place. If I QUIT however, that pain will last forever. I will NOT quite. I will NOT give up. I WILL achieve greatness"

What I've been doing with my diet is drinking a protein drink for breakfast ( I must admit I despise healthy breakfast so this is as close as I will get for a while), eating a large portion of fruit and vegetables then a small portion of pizza or pasta for lunch and eating a large portion of vegetables then a smaller portion of pasta/rice/pizza/sandwich, and a small portion of protein for dinner.

I think my main problem is snacks. My sister and mom always buy chips, popcorn, and candy for snacks. I've managed to resist them most of the time since I started eating less but they are still very tempting...

I'm also taking a gym/P.E. class and I have to workout each day of the week for an hour, I have to walk parts of the way home, and I lift weights at my house on the weekends and some week days. My muscles are so sore from strength training but I know its good for me.

I agree qth makira and feel exactly like that. Ive been that girl who's metabolism is super great my whole life. But I still am not perfect and I need to get my motivation back. Trust me I hate running. So I dance. I cut out soda. This was hard but after a month u learn that it's soo disgusting. I eat smaller more often meals. I think the biggest thing for me was knowing that I want o look good for me. My bf supports me all the way. Find a fitness buddy it helps!! Good luck!!

What I've been doing with my diet is drinking a protein drink for breakfast ( I must admit I despise healthy breakfast so this is as close as I will get for a while), eating a large portion of fruit and vegetables then a small portion of pizza or pasta for lunch and eating a large portion of vegetables then a smaller portion of pasta/rice/pizza/sandwich, and a small portion of protein for dinner.

I think my main problem is snacks. My sister and mom always buy chips, popcorn, and candy for snacks. I've managed to resist them most of the time since I started eating less but they are still very tempting...

I'm also taking a gym/P.E. class and I have to workout each day of the week for an hour, I have to walk parts of the way home, and I lift weights at my house on the weekends and some week days. My muscles are so sore from strength training but I know its good for me.

Yay! A Batman quote!! Love those movies!!

I hate eating breakfast too. Trust me. It's balls to get into that habit when you've been out of it since high school. But having a bowl of oatmeal and fruit will really help you out and helps keep you fuller. I don't know if I can say enough good about oatmeal. Let a cup of water come to a boil (less if you prefer thick oatmeal like me) and dump in half a cup of oats. For quick oats let it sit for about 5 minutes and sprinkle some salt in. Mix up a bit of cinnamon, and a little (little!) bit of brown sugar on top and lop in some strawberries..blueberries..kiwi..blackberries..jus t about any fruit you could think of would taste great in oatmeal. Sometimes I'll even have this as a snack if I am REALLY craving food.

What I am doing is keeping away from pasta, white bread, and trying to stay clear of pizza. A little bit of pasta or pizza in moderation is fine. But for lunch you have a lot better options to pick from then pasta and pizza. Salads for example, it sounds so boring and "everyone eats salads to lose weight!" but you can really load on lots of healthy toppings to get a filling and delicious lunch and dinner.

Yesterday I made a salad with iceberg lettuce, cucumber, avocado, cauliflower, and a bit of ranch dressing. It was tasty and filling.

Today I made another salad with a mix of lettuce, some cucumber and grilled chicken. For the chicken I used vegetable oil cooking spray and grilled the chicken until it was golden brown, then added a bit of Italian dressing into the pan and cooked the chicken in the dressing until it was slightly black. You don't have to cook your chicken that long-I just like mine a bit burnt. I sprinkled some red pepper flakes, a pinch of Mexican blend cheese and a drizzle of Italian dressing. It was delicious! Having salad so often might sound boring, but take a look at my lunch today:http://picture.vzw.com/mi/713574183_...border=1,0,0,0
Doesn't look too boring too me. It was very flavorful and filling.

For dinner I often have another salad, or an open face sandwich. Using a single slice of seeded rye bread (or your favorite bread that isn't white), toast it in the oven with a light bit of butter on either side to prevent burning. Pick a white meat such as turkey or chicken and put it on top of the bread as it toasts in the oven. You can use a slice of cheese (not too much, one slice should be more then enough) before putting your meat down as well. We've got quite a lot of ham left over from Easter, and I'll just slice off a thin piece, put a single piece of colby jack cheese down on the toast, with the ham on top in the oven under the broiler. It's extremely tasty! I'll have this as lunch or dinner any day. You can also toast up the rye bread, spread a little bit of butter down and use half a can of tuna (in water-drain it reaaaaaaaaaaaal well unless you want smooshy toast goo..). Also very tasty with some lettuce and the tuna.

While I wouldn't say pasta and pizza are inherently bad for you, eating them every single day may not be wise and you should look into trying some different things like I mentioned above. You can get your dose of veggies by topping them onto a salad for example.

Even having a fruit salad would be delicious for lunch. You could make it multiple ways, my favorite is using watermelon, blueberries, strawberries and kiwi. Sliced up bite sized and let sit together in a bowl in the fridge so they get chilled. Then simply eating as is. The natural sugars from the different fruits are more then enough and you shouldn't need to add any yourself. You could take that mixture of fruits and layer it in a tall glass with some low-fat vanilla yogurt for a tasty lunch parfait. Sprinkle a bit of homemade granola on top for crunchy goodness. It's very very nom-tastic.

It would also make a delicious snack if you wanted to use a smaller cup, put some of the yogurt in the bottom, a layer of fruit, and topping it off with a smaller layer of yogurt topped with granola. This would make a great alternative to the chips your mother buys. Popcorn is not actually bad for you, butter loaded and over salted popcorn...not so good. Personally I don't care for plain popcorn but if I do have some I'll use some of the butter flavored seasoning salt on mine. I don't hugely care for popcorn however so this is extremely rare for me to have.

Your going to have to cut down on the calories you do eat by having smaller portions of better food. For example, if you consume 2000 a day to maintain your current weight, remove 300-500 calories from your diet. Say, that bowl of pasta and two slices of pizza are amounting to 400 calories a day change those out for healthier options. Instead of having sides of veggies as part of lunch make the veggies your lunch as part of a salad. Have oatmeal with fruit for dinner instead of pizza, or a few slices of grilled chicken breast (like taking half of a half piece of a large chicken breast.)with peas and an apple. You could grill up a kosher hot dog with a seeded wheat bun, add shredded lettuce, hot peppers, and tomato then the hot dog on top.

I have a terrible time with motivation as well. I've been diagnosed with binge eating disorder in which I consume ridiculously large and unhealthy amounts of food and then feel guilty soon after to the point of self hate and deep depression. It seems that I can never stick to a diet without cheating, causing me to gain what little pounds I had lost previously. I'm super uncomfortable with how I look and really, really, really want to be thin like I once was but i keep falling victim to the same thing. It's like I cant control myself.

xDDD Sorry. I'm so bored and tired right now.
Ahem....*puts on shades* 8(
Another motivation is to imagine or find a picture of how you want
to look like. I personally chose KENSHIRO FROM FIST OF THE NORTH STAR.

Hello! I've been struggling with losing weight (or inches) for years. I've tried diets, exercise, etc. Each time I end up doing something like eating too much and seeing how badly of done I give up thinking its all too much. I've hit that point again and I really want to give up again, but I also want to get healthier.

I don't know what to do, its really hard for me and I know I must sound pathetic because I've only been at this a week, but I need your help. How do you guys stay motivated? How would you recommend I stay motivated?

I suggest finding someone who you look up to and adore their physique. And try to be a little more realistic, sometimes watching them and how they stay fit is really helpful! If you want a fun workout, I highly recommend ordering the Zumba videos or doing some Zumba classes. They're super fun and the instructors are very motivating! It's kind of crazy, because a lot of times you forget you're actually getting a good workout because the dancing is so fun!

I have a terrible time with motivation as well. I've been diagnosed with binge eating disorder in which I consume ridiculously large and unhealthy amounts of food and then feel guilty soon after to the point of self hate and deep depression. It seems that I can never stick to a diet without cheating, causing me to gain what little pounds I had lost previously. I'm super uncomfortable with how I look and really, really, really want to be thin like I once was but i keep falling victim to the same thing. It's like I cant control myself.

That can be really hard. I'm somewhat recovering from bulimia. I actually have done really well the past 6 months with minimal relapsing! The main way to overcome that mental guilt is to try to be as realistic as possible. I'm an emotional eater too, I tend to eat when I'm stressed or depressed. I think the best thing for me has been to PLAN cheat meals once per week. It gives you something to look forward to during the diet. ;o)